On the full moon day of the seventh lunar month, the Mae Hia people, a village located southwest of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, gather to offer a buffalo as a sacrifice to Pu Sae and Ya Sae, the guardian spirits of the forest around the majestic peak of Doi Kham.
The legend says that these two giants loved to eat human meat, until Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, went to talk to them and convinced them not to do it anymore. In return, however, they would receive a large offering from the villages of the mountain once a year. So, since then, the men have been sacrificing the largest black buffalo to give it as a gift, asking for protection and showing their respect.
When the shaman is ready, the actual ritual begins. Always accompanied by two men, Mo Phi is taken inside the field where the buffalo lies. He is in a deep trance. Under the eyes of everyone, he positions himself on top of the animal and begins to talk to it and touch it. Immediately afterwards he tears off pieces of raw meat and eats them. He goes on drinking the blood and talking again. The words are incomprehensible.
After half an hour the shaman seems to come to his senses. The ritual is over. Once again this year the promised offering has been made, in the hope of the people of Mae Hia that the giants Pu Sae and Ya Sae will keep their word and not return to their old ways.
